When Lin Lan and Yang Liying got ho, Lin Yuezhen and Zhao Dehai had already gone to the Eucalyptus Forest to set up their stall.
Lin Lan went inside to put the money pouch away, then got on her bicycle and rode back to the Eucalyptus Forest with Yang Liying.
When Zhao Dehai saw Yang Liying return, he finished handing tofu to a custor before telling her about the shop purchase.
"Liying, I saw that Xiangyang registered both shopfronts in Lin Lan’s na."
"Really?" Yang Liying gave Lin Lan a curious look. "On the way back, Lin Lan was just saying how she still owed Xiangyang money. She borrowed it to help her in-law buy that shop on Vegetable Market Street and hasn’t paid him back yet. She said she wasn’t going to buy one for herself and would wait until she earned enough. You don’t think he fronted her the money, do you?"
"He must have fronted the money himself, right?" Zhao Dehai said this, then laughed. "It looks like Xiangyang is absolutely crazy about Lin Lan."
Yang Liying nodded after hearing this. "Lin Lan deserves it."
Nearby, Lin Yuezhen signed to Lin Lan, "Xiangyang ca by for the household registration book. He said it was to file the property deed!"
Lin Lan was stunned. "I told him I don’t have the money and wasn’t buying it!"
Lin Yuezhen froze for a second, then signed, "I thought you and Xiangyang had already worked it out. He asked for it, so I gave it to him."
Lin Lan turned her head to glance at Li Xiangyang, who was busy in the vegetable garden. "It’s fine. I’ll go find him later."
’Even if we’ve officially started dating, we need to keep our finances separate. I don’t want his family to think I’m just after his money.’
Lin Yuezhen thought for a mont. "Little Lan, Xiangyang is a really good man. Don’t let him get away."
"I know. We’ll just see what happens!"
Lin Yuezhen nodded and took her keys to go ho and wait for Little Douzi to get out of school.
Lin Lan took over the stall. After a wave of custors, a woman in her forties with a large, round face and shoulder-length hair ca over. Pointing at the kidney bean rolls in the basket, she asked, "Hey! How much for these bean cakes?"
"Twenty cents a piece!" Lin Lan replied. She covered the other pastries with a white cloth. Seeing the woman still standing there, she used bamboo tongs to pick up a small piece and offer it to her. "Ma’am, please have a taste."
The woman took it and tasted it, then looked up at Lin Lan. "Let ask you sothing. Where do you buy these pastries to sell?" ’Everyone says she makes them herself, but how could a country woman make pastries like these?’
Lin Lan glanced at her and smiled. "The pastries I sell here are all handmade by ."
The woman eyed her skeptically. "Well, aren’t you the capable one!"
Lin Lan gave a faint smile. "Thank you for the complint."
The woman’s mouth twitched. She pointed to several pastries. "Give one yuan’s worth of each."
"You got it!" Lin Lan packed them in a paper bag and handed it to her.
The woman took the bag and ate as she walked. She made a loop around the Eucalyptus Forest and ca back, her head held high, and said to Lin Lan in a patronizing tone, "My na is Chen Jinyue. I work at the state-run canteen. Right now, the canteen is looking for two people who know how to make pastries. If you’re interested, I can recomnd you for a temporary position."
’I’ve been watching her for several days, and I’ve bought her pastries a few tis to try. I’ve attempted to make them myself, but I can never get the taste right. As long as she’s willing to go, I can get her to tell the recipe. Then, among the pastry chefs at the canteen, I’ll be number one.’
Lin Lan looked at her superior attitude and found it a bit funny. "Thank you for your kind offer, but I’m quite happy here."
Chen Jinyue looked at her in disbelief. "I’m not lying to you. If you don’t believe , you can co with to the canteen to see for yourself!" She continued to tempt her, "Let tell you, I work at the governnt canteen. As long as you do a good job, you could even beco a permanent employee later on!"
Lin Lan said calmly, "Thank you. I have too many responsibilities here. You should find soone who needs the job."
’What an ignorant country woman,’ Chen Jinyue thought, looking at Lin Lan. ’Turning down a job at a state canteen to stay here as a street vendor.’ Resentfully, she muttered, "Ignorant country bumpkin." With that, she left with her paper bag.
Seeing the woman insult Lin Lan with a look of utter contempt, Yang Liying called out, "Lin Lan, that woman just called you a country bumpkin."
Lin Lan had heard it too. She smiled and explained what had happened. "She’s not wrong. Choosing to be a street vendor instead of taking a state job... I guess that does make an ignorant country bumpkin!"
"Well, when you put it like that!" Yang Liying thought about it and found it strange. "If this were a few years ago, I would have thought working in a state-run canteen was a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity. Logically, plenty of people would be lining up for that job, so why did she co here looking for you?"
"I’m not sure either." Lin Lan looked at Yang Liying smugly. "Probably because I’m just that good at it!"
"That’s true enough." As Yang Liying spoke, she rembered what Zhao Dehai had said. She walked over to Lin Lan’s side and whispered in her ear, "Dehai says Xiangyang is absolutely crazy about you. He said that property on Vegetable Market Street was a steal, so he eagerly ran to your house, grabbed your registration book, and had the deed put in your na."
Lin Lan felt her face flush. "I only found out when my sister told after I got back. Once I close up the stall, I’ll go find him and write him an IOU."
"Mmm! That’s a good idea. It’ll keep his family from thinking we’re after their money." Yang Liying smiled, then added, "Dehai said the courtyard in the back is bigger than the shops up front. All four storefronts were only 2,200 yuan total. It was a real bargain, but a lot of the door planks and roof tiles are also broken.
"Without the tiles, the roof purlins have been exposed to the sun and rain, and so have even rotted. We’ll have to buy so timber, tiles, and bricks to fix the place up properly."
Lin Lan nodded. "We’ll use the money we saved from the low price for the repairs. Have your husband keep a record of the expenses, and we’ll split the cost."
Yang Liying said readily, "No problem. We’ll need to include Older Sister, too. We can settle up the total cost once all the repairs are finished."
While they were talking, another wave of people ca. The pastries Lin Lan had brought were already sold out. Only two bags of fried fava beans were left. She didn’t plan on waiting around, so she took out the lambskin she had brought for Zhou Xiaohong and walked over to her.
Zhou Xiaohong watched her with a broad smile. "You went back to visit your family, how co you didn’t stay a few more days?"
Lin Lan pointed to her stall equipnt across the way. "Look at all this stuff. How could I possibly get away!" As she spoke, she handed her the two lambskins. "Here. Take these and have soone make you two pairs of fur-lined shoes. They’re guaranteed to keep you warm."
"Oh, my!" Zhou Xiaohong took them, stroking the soft fur, unable to put them down. "I’ve never seen such high-quality lambskin. It’s so white and soft."
"Of course. My dad got it from a friend of his in the mountains. If you don’t know soone, you’d never even find the place."
Zhou Xiaohong nodded. "Yeah! You can’t buy quality things these days, even if you have the money." She put down her carrying basket, placed the skins inside, and secured it. "How much? I’ll pay you now."
Lin Lan smiled. "Ten yuan."
"Thanks!" Zhou Xiaohong gave the money to Lin Lan. "You’re closing up too, right? The sky’s clouding over. I’m worried it’s going to rain again. You should head ho early."
Lin Lan nodded. "I’ll just pack my things up and head out."
Zhou Xiaohong shouldered her gear. "I’ll get going then!"
"Alright!" Lin Lan went back and folded the white cloth. She stacked her baskets, packing the smaller ones into the larger ones. Just as she reached back to hoist the load onto her back, her hand t empty air. She turned to see Li Xiangyang holding the baskets, looking at her with a smile in his eyes.
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